China offers UK a model to get trains up to speed

If you want to travel from Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province to East China's Shanghai, a distance of 2,252 kilometers, it will take you 11 hours and 15 minutes - and you can bet your train will leave and arrive on time.

If you want to travel the 664 km from London to Edinburgh, it will take you nearly five hours, the train will often be delayed and you will have to pay extra to guarantee a seat.

Traveling on China's new high-speed, state-of-the-art trains costs you an average of 100 yuan an hour, traveling at around 350 km/h. Roughly put, it means the ticket between Kunming and Shanghai should cost you about 1,115 yuan ($162) at current prices.